writing technologies

Brand Style Guide Assignment

Madeleine Sorapure Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description The Brand Style Guide (BSG) is a common genre for organizations both large and small. It establishes a verbal and visual style that employees can apply in print and digital communications, yielding consistency across different expressions of the brand. Creating a BSG is therefore a good fit […]

Brand Style Guide Assignment Read More »

Writing, Translating, and Revising Menus: An International Virtual Exchange Project

Massimo Verzella Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description This assignment is informed by a pedagogical tradition that emphasizes the connections between the fields of writing and translation (Matsuda; Horner and Tetreault), a connection that becomes even more relevant in technical communication (Gnecchi et al.; Petts et al.). Just like writing, translation is process-based, iterative, and

Writing, Translating, and Revising Menus: An International Virtual Exchange Project Read More »

Discourse Communities Manual Presentation

Andrew H. Yim Assignments & Activities Archive Assignment Description In this activity, which will take around 3-4 weeks, students are tasked to research one discourse community (e.g., college club, job, volunteer organization) that they have never joined or recently became a member of. They need to pick out the 6 elements of the organization including:

Discourse Communities Manual Presentation Read More »

Large Language Models and Chain Stories: An Exploration of Creativity and Artificial Intelligence

Chris Mayer Assignments & Activities Archive Activity Description This lesson develops students’ awareness of the synergistic and disruptive potential of Large Language Models (LLMs) in storytelling. Designed for a first-year writing class, the lesson explores the interplay between creativity and AI by examining LLMs’ storytelling capabilities. Students will collaboratively create a chain story, then use

Large Language Models and Chain Stories: An Exploration of Creativity and Artificial Intelligence Read More »

Gen AI: Large Language Models and Linguistic Whitewashing

Chris Mayer Assignments & Activities Archive Activity Description This multi-step lesson engages students in the critical analysis of Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) and its impact on linguistic diversity. Through assigned readings, writing tasks, and in-class activities, students will explore how Large Language Models (LLMs) can reinforce linguistic hierarchies and biases. Even older LLMs, like

Gen AI: Large Language Models and Linguistic Whitewashing Read More »

Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context

Keshab Raj Acharya Volume 6 Chapter Description Culture matters in defining your behaviors, norms, values, and belief systems. These cultural factors affect how audiences in the international context perceive and react to the message you share with them. These cultural factors also mean that writing for international audiences is different from writing for your domestic

Composing Technical Documents for Localized Usability in the International Context Read More »

How to Write for Global Audiences

Birgitta Meex Volume 6 Chapter Description In today’s globalized world, the demand for high quality localized content is growing. Localization entails translation of source content into one or more target languages and adaptation of the translated content to the needs and cultural specificity of the local market (locale). Source text quality together with internationalization is

How to Write for Global Audiences Read More »

Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach

Audrey G. Bennett Volume 6 Chapter Description The culturally inclusive approach introduced in this chapter can be used to design multimodal technical instructions that resonate cross-culturally by 1) representing culture competently from knowledge gleaned by conducting primary and secondary research and 2) enabling cross-cultural interpretation through interactive aesthetics. The approach aligns with a curriculum that

Designing Multimodal Technical Instructions for Cross-Cultural Resonance Using a Culturally Inclusive Approach Read More »

Basic Approaches to Creating Accessible Documentation Projects: What Is Accessibility, and What Does It Have to do with Documentation Projects?

Cathryn Molloy Volume 6 Chapter Description In this chapter, you’ll learn basic considerations for accessible documentation projects. The chapter will allow you to begin to approach documentationprojects with fundamental accessibly in mind. In order to do so, we’ll cover topics such as: considering colorblindness, considering dyslexia, and other conditions that alter visual abilities, creating documents

Basic Approaches to Creating Accessible Documentation Projects: What Is Accessibility, and What Does It Have to do with Documentation Projects? Read More »

“Not So Fast”: Centering Your Users to Design the Right Solution

Candice Lanius and Ryan Weber Volume 6 Chapter Description User-centered design can help avoid assumptions about what audiences need and help avoid creating products, such as documents, websites, infographics, etc., that individuals cannot use. By placing the user of a product at the center of the design process, user-centered design makes the processes of design,

“Not So Fast”: Centering Your Users to Design the Right Solution Read More »